Soap manufacture



De. 16, 1930. J. A. scHwANTEs SOAP MANUFACTURE Filed June 28. 1928 vINDENTOR D( ma f ATTORNEU Patented ec. 16, 1930 STATES ATjENr orricaJULIUS A. SCHWANTES, 0F WAUWATOSA, WSCONSIN, ASSIGNOR. TO COLGATE-PALM-OLIVE-FEET COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINUIS, A CORPORATION 0F DELAWARE soarMANUFACTURE Application led June 28,

The invention relates to a method of producing shredded soap.

The general object of the invention is to improve upon the process setforth in my prior United States Patent No. 1,603,559, dated October 19,1926, wherein soap shreds are formed by the mechanical breaking up ofsoap, in a semi-liquid or pastelike condition, into tiny shreds whichare dried sufficiently to render them non-adhering- One of the objectsof the present invention is to provide a process for producing anaerated, mechanically shredded soap product. While it is old toimpregnate a body of molten soap with air by a crutching operation, as,for eX- ample in the United States patent to Ellis, No. 1,007,680, ofNovember 7, 1911, where such crutching has been employedthe soap isproduced in a dried cake-like mass that nei prefer to dry shreds whichare subjected sultable drying gas toevaporate the desired y cessitatessubsequent breaking. By the present process the particle formation iseffected mechanically just prior to the drying of the product. It hasalso been proposed to spray liquidl soap by means of compressed air but,s uch a process simply acts to disrupt the soap into small particles anddoes not bring about an intimate mixing of soap and air necessary toproduce a truly aerated product, but produces dust-like particles. Bythe present process the soap in a frothy, pasty, threadlike condition ismechanically cut into tiny to the action of a.

amount of moisture therefrom and cause the particles to becomesolidified into separate, non-adhering entities.

While the soap shreds produced as above described may be dried invarious ways1 I them by the well known countercurrent flow principal ofdrying semiliquid substances, but to improve upon my aforementionedpatent in this respect by causing the drying air to pass through thedrying chamber under the action of a suction-producing device at theupper end of the chamber, whereby the finer particles of the product canbe collected and the waste air be discharged in a clean condition, thuseffecting a recovery of such of the liner particles as were previouslywasted and also pre 1928. Serial No. 288,951.

venting soapladen air from becoming a nuisance to the vicinitysurrounding the plant.

The invention further consists in the methi taken on the line 2-2 ofFgl; l

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view through i the shredder.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 5 designates a steam-jacketedstorage tank wherein the soap is kept in a liquid condition by heatingit to a suitable temperature, as for example, .180 degrees Fahrenheit.The soap is introduced into this tank by a pipe 6 connected with asuitable source of supply.

vThe liquid-soap is drawn off from the bottom of the tank by gravity andin addition by a pair of pumps 8 connected by pipe 7 with the tank 5 andarranged in multistage relation and driven by an electric motor 9through a suitable variable transmission drive 10, including belts l1.The liquid soap is delivered under pressure by the pumps which controlits rate of discharge to and through a discharge line 12 to an agitator13 which is of the rotary type and may be a suitable centrifugal pump orbeater.'

Just before the soap enters the agitator 13 compressed air, from acompressor 14 driven in any suitable manner as by an electric n10- torand delivering to a receiver 15, is introduced into the line 12 by apipe 16 connected with said receiver. The air pressure is suffciently inexcess of the soap pump delivery pressure to cause the air to enter thedislUO action of the pump discharge pressure and the centrifugal forceset up in the soap by a rapidly rotating disc thr'ough which the soap isfed, is disdharged therefrom and cut into fine sheds during itsdischarge by the action of a disc rotating in the opposite direction 27and 28.

To insure the soap being maintained at the proper temperature thedischarge pipe 17 is Vsteam-jacketed and steam from a live-steam line 29passes through iacketed portions 30 of this pipe and thence by way ofpipe 31 to the jacket space 32 of the tank and the condensate isdischarged through overflow pipe 33. Pipes 34 and 35 connect the line 29with the soap pipe for blowing orcleaning it out and pipe 35 i's a pipeline for draining the soap from the supply tank, if necessary.

It will be noted that the various pipe lines above described areequipped with :valves to control the flow of the liquids or fluidswithin them.

The shredding apparatus 18 is located centrally in the upper portion ofa large drying chamber 36, the upper part of the shredding apparatus andthe feed pipes associated therewith being in a compartment 37, separatefrom but extending into the drying chamber. A small propeller 38,mounted on the shaft 26, is used to direct air in the immediate vicinityof the shredder head downward l. in order to keep the soap particlesfrom co1- lecting on parts ofthe shredder apparatus.

Air drawn into a chamber 39, past heating coils 40, is introduced intothe lower conical part of the chamber 36 through ports 41. Anair-rotated member 42 is centrally mounted in the lower end of thechamber and is provided with wiper .blades 43 moving adjacent the sidewalls at the lower end of the chamber to keep the port 41 clean. The airis preferably heated to quite a high temperature, for example 260degrees Fahrenheit, and as it ascends through the chamber .39 it comesinto intimate drying contact with the small shredded particles of soapthat are being projected into the chamber by the shredding apparatus,with the result that these particles are rapidly transformed from anemulsive state into small dried particles of soap having minute airbubbles entrapped thcrein which particles gravitate to the bottom of thedrying chamber where they are removed by a positively driven, revolvinggate 44 which deposits them onto a conveyor 45 upon which they arecooled as they proceed through a cooling chamber 46 and are then led toa lace of storage or ackaging.

The warm ryin air is prefera ly caused to move upwardly y the action ofa suction fan 47 connected by a'conduit 48 with the upper end of acycloneseparator chamber 49 which connects by conduit 50 with the upperend of thev drying chamber 39 and which has a valved outlet 51 forcontrolling the discharge of collected soap particles. Bythis'arrangement any fine particles carried 0H by the drying air aredeposited in the separator 49 from which they are recovered and thus theair delivered by the fan 47 to atmosphere is substantially clean.

What I claim as m invention is:

1. The lmethod o making shredded soap which comprises beating a mixtureof hot, semiluid soap and air, under pressure, into a frothy condition,delivering the mixture so formed to a shredder, shredding said soapwhile in its semiiuid condition, and drying said shreds as non-adheringentities.

2. The'method of making shredded soap which comprises beating a mixtureof hot semifluid soap and air, under pressure, into a frothy conditlon,dehverymg the mixture so formed to a shredder, shredding said soap whilein its semiiiuid condition and discharging it as shredded into a dryingcurrent of heated air.

3. The method of making shredded soap which comprises delivering soap insemitluid condition to a shredder, shredding the soap as it isdischarged from the shredder, drying the shredded soap particles by,downward descent in an upwardly moving current of heated air, andinducing a downward iiow of the drying air adjacent the shredder toprevent deposition of soap particles thereon. A

In testimony whereof, I aiiix my signature.

J ULIUS A. SCHWANTES.

